No cure for the fear of speaking in public???

I came across an article that suggests that there is no cure for the fear of speaking in public. I totally disagree. First, we are born with only two fears. The fear of noise and the fear of falling. If we learn all other fears, then we can "delearn" fears.

If you have a fear of speaking in public, join Toastmasters at http://www.toastmasters.org. Members of Toastmasters has proven that we can transcend the fear of public speaking.

The article I saw suggested that we focus on our speech and not our fear. That's partially correct. Certainly, we shouldn't focus on the fear; however, we shouldn't necessarily focus on our speech, i.e. we shouldn't focus on perfecting our speech or hurry through our speech or focusing on how we deliver our speech. Rather, we need to focus on our message. What do we want to give the audience. Try to converse with your audience rather than just presenting.

Another suggestion that was stated in the article was to place your hands behind your back or clasp them together if your hands are shaking. I do not agree with this. Shaky hands is a natural part of fear. It is caused by excess energy in the muscles to prepare our bodies to defend ourselves from predators. Rather than clamping your hands together, which is a physical sign of fear, shake your arms and legs to dissipate the energy in your body. One suggestion: do this offstage before you begin your speech.

Though others may believe there is no cure for the fear of speaking in front of goups, I believe we can transcend our fear by joining Toastmasters and understanding why we have the fear.